April 17, 2024
When you look in the mirror and see Ruth Richardson staring back
When you look in the mirror and see Ruth Richardson staring back
Matthew Tukaki
The stupidity of job cuts at Oranga Tamariki (447 jobs) and the Ministry of Education (565 jobs), and across the public sector, comes at a time when the current Governments only strategy is to cut jobs with no actual plan other than to say they are going to measure outcomes. And its not just the estimated five thousand jobs going in Government, its also the hundreds that have already been lost in business and industry. Unemployment overall is up to 4% and that’s the highest rate since the June Quarter of 2021.
Its no longer a case of blaming the previous Government as this new Coalition has been in place now for more than six months. Some suggest we are seeing a mirror held up reflecting the Roger Douglas (one of the founders of the ACT Party) and Ruth Richardson years where thousands of New Zealanders lost their jobs. Even David Lange, lamenting his time in office, said that they needed to stop for a cup of tea and take a break from the economic changes. Just as former National Minister, Ruth Richardson didn’t get the memo, looks like her successor, Nicola Willis also didn’t get it. Are we to expect the mother of all budgets? Need they have a reminder of the devastating impact their policies have had not just on working people but also the working poor and middle classes?
There is a deepening sense that the job cuts aren’t over and the unemployment rate in the next quarter will rise. There is also the fact that not all the jobs being cut are in Wellington, many of them are spread out across the country and when people are uncertain about their own financial security, we also see increasing rates of anxiety, depression, and financial distress. Small business loses with less custom. The only winners appear to be people that don’t need a tax cut.
Matthew Tukaki is Chairman of the National Māori Authority and former Chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Board of Oranga Tamariki , General Manager UMA Broadcasting Ltd, Ngāi Te Rangi